Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Memory Map

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith is an Indigenous artist who uses abstraction, neo-expressionism, and pop to address environmental destruction, war, genocide, and the misreading of the past. Her work blurs categories and questions why certain visual languages attain recognition, historical privilege, and value. The publication "Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: A Visual Language" illustrates nearly five decades of Smith's work in all media, accompanied by essays and short texts by contemporary Indigenous artists and scholars.

Format: Hardback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 25 April 2023
Publisher: Yale University Press

Throughout her illustrious career as an artist, activist, and educator, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (b. 1940) has painstakingly crafted a unique visual language that seamlessly bridges the gap between personal expression and universal accessibility. Her artistic journey, spanning five decades, has been marked by a relentless pursuit to address pressing global issues such as environmental degradation, armed conflict, genocide, and the distortion of historical narratives. An enrolled Salish member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation, Smith employs a masterful blend of abstraction, neo-expressionism, and pop, infusing them with Indigenous artistic traditions to challenge prevailing conceptions of historical accounts and expose the absurdities underlying the formation of dominant cultures. Her captivating drawings, prints, paintings, and sculptures defy conventional categorization, prompting thoughtful inquiries into the reasons why certain visual languages are deemed worthy of recognition, historical precedence, and monetary value. At the core of Smith's artistic vision lies a profound reverence for the land, a sentiment that permeates her work and thought. She emphasizes that Native people have always been integral to the land, and her artistic creations serve as memory maps, encapsulating the stories and experiences of her people.

The publication, aptly titled "Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Five Decades of Work," serves as a comprehensive retrospective of Smith's artistic output across various media. Accompanied by insightful essays and concise texts written by contemporary Indigenous artists and scholars, each major body of work is explored in depth, shedding light on the profound themes and messages conveyed through her art.

This remarkable exhibition will be presented at prestigious venues, including the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York from April 19, 2023, to August 13, 2023. Subsequently, it will travel to the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth from October 15, 2023, to January 7, 2024, and then to the Seattle Art Museum from February 15, 2024, to May 12, 2024.

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith's artistic legacy continues to inspire and challenge us, reminding us of the power of art to transcend boundaries and ignite meaningful conversations about our shared human experience. Her unwavering commitment to social justice, cultural preservation, and the exploration of historical truths has earned her a well-deserved place in the annals of art history.

Weight: 1542g
Dimension: 257 x 301 x 30 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780300269789